ON THE ATTACK; Tough Talk About Obama

By SARAH WHEATON

Published: October 18, 2008

A Republican congresswoman from Minnesota said Friday that some of Senator Barack Obama's associations raise the possibility that he has ''anti-American views.''

The lawmaker, Representative Michele Bachmann of suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, made the remarks to Chris Matthews on MSNBC's ''Hardball,'' and cited Mr. Obama's ties to Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and William Ayers, a founder of the radical group Weather Underground in the 1960s, whom she called ''over-the-top anti-America.''

''I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views,'' Ms. Bachmann said in reference to Mr. Obama.

She also said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, had ''far-leftist views,'' although she declined to characterize either as pro- or anti-American.

Asked how many members of Congress she would describe as ''anti-American,'' Ms. Bachmann replied: ''I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America. I would love to see an expos?ike that.''

Ms. Bachmann has become a favorite of talk shows and blogs because of her unbridled expressions of staunch conservatism and Christian faith. SARAH WHEATON